The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus for reducing impacts from a side of a vehicle.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 10-24793, 10-80590, and 10-81187 each disclose an airbag apparatus that protect an occupant of a vehicle when the impact is applied from a side of the vehicle. An airbag module of such an airbag apparatus is provided in an exterior side of a backrest of a vehicle seat. The airbag module includes an inflator, which generates gas in response to impact, and an airbag, which is inflated and deployed by the gas discharged from the inflator.
When impact is applied from a body side portion of a vehicle toward the passenger compartment, the inflator of the above airbag apparatus supplies gas into the airbag, so that the airbag is inflated and deployed forward with respect to the backrest. Since the airbag that has been inflated and deployed is located between the occupant and the body side portion that bulges into the passenger compartment, the impact applied to the occupant from the side via the body side portion is reduced.
It is predicted that, in the above shown airbag apparatus, the occupant protecting performance will be improved if the occupant is moved inward away from the body side portion before the body side portion bulges into the passenger compartment. In the above described airbag apparatus, although the inflated and deployed airbag can push the occupant further into the passenger compartment, the timing at which the airbag pushes the occupant is after the airbag breaks out of the backrest and is deployed to a certain degree. Thus, this type of airbag is still susceptible to improvement in terms of the occupant protecting performance.